The Brilliant Backup
by MoonRaven1412
Summary: Takuya figures out things, confronts people and finds his way in to a certain inside circle. Part of Dream or Not-verse.


**A/N: I wrote this one-shot! Yay! A bit slow progress but I got this finally done.**

 **This is taking place during chapters one and two of Leaping into the Dream.**

 **I hope you like.**

* * *

 **The Brilliant Backup**

It had been busy lately. Case after case popped out, more often than not they were murders. Occasional accident and suicide fitted in too but the crime rates in Beika City were in all time high. Miyoshi Takuya sighed. He barely had time to write up his reports. Just the other day they had two murders in same park! So much for peaceful Hanami…

Takuya had had time off that day and meant to meetup with Mai and exchange information she'd requested from him ages ago. Just a nice day with his cousin with picking fortunes and watching the blossoms… Then the pickpocket Kurobee had been found dead. And Takuya had had to make sure that Agent Starling and that Edogawa-boy didn't mess with the crime scene. Though he didn't protest when the kid went to direct his friends to locate stolen wallets and thus get the police some suspects…

There had been way too many cooks in that soup but at least some of them stayed out of the way. Like Mai's group: Okiya Tsukiko and Ishikawa Yamato. They remained in the sidelines while the two nuisances poked and prodded at the evidence and witness statements. Takuya had never before sympathized more with Megure and Takagi for dealing with Mouri Kogoro and Edogawa Conan in almost daily basis.

Eventually it was Mai who solved the case. At least out loud. Takuya got the impression that Tsukiko, Ishikawa and Conan had gotten to the truth as well.

But then he had given the results of the fingerprint comparison to Mai. And she'd gotten excited. And Takuya had been forced to play mediator so she wouldn't reveal the aim of her investigation to Conan. Just like he had to rein her in when she was eavesdropping on the conversation between the boy and Agent Starling. Not that he hadn't been listening in as well – Mystery Train's explosion caused by people called 'them' was quite interesting – but that wasn't the point! Mai was only sixteen! A teenager! If she continued this way, she'd get in trouble. Because if the people involved were the same than what Rei was deep in…

The officer shook his head to clear his thoughts from that route and picked up the next file. Time to continue with the other murder. The one that was detected and called in mere moments after solving the first one. Murakawa Toya. Poisoned. No witnesses. A passerby got suspicious when the man received a message but didn't react to it. And when trying to rouse him, found out the man was dead. According to the coroner, the man had been dead for hours and by then there was no reliable witnesses anymore. As expected really, once they found out the man was one of the Crows that were being hunted.

Takagi took the seat opposite Takuya with a deep sigh.

"Anything new, Takagi-kun?" The man asked.

"Nothing. There is no sign of the imposter of Benzaki Touhei-san. Or the woman that claimed to be his wife."

"Ah."

"What about you Takuya-kun?"

"The tox-screen came back from the labs. Murakawa-san was killed with atroquinine." The brunet lifted up a folder. "But he probably might've died from the amount of sleeping pills and alcohol he had in his systems."

"Yikes…" Takagi grimaced. "Chiba asked at his work place about him and his close circle and plans in general for that day. Apparently he didn't really talk about his plans other than bragging about getting the best place to view Hanami."

"And didn't have any family left either. Sounds like a dead end to me…" Takuya mused. "As expected from the Hunters really…"

"Takagi, Miyoshi, there has been a murder." Megure said from the door. "We're going."

"Hai, Megure-keibu!" The two chorused.

* * *

It had happened at Blue Parrot. One of the customers had died. Apparently from a stab to the neck with something poisoned. It had taken a while before his companions noticed the man's demise and were shocked but ultimately weren't upset. And both Mouri Kogoro and Edogawa Conan were there.

Takuya sweat-dropped. Apparently, they'd be treated yet another deduction show. Because sometimes they definitely were such spectacles. And Sleeping Kogoro never appeared without Conan present. How people hadn't noticed it, Takuya could only wonder. Though as he'd been in the presence of Rei's intuition and Mai's brilliance, he could see the patterns… And Megure was more likely to listen to Mouri who'd been his subordinate ten years ago than a seven-year-old kid. Takagi in the other hand had a clean slate and had worked with the boy without the man interfering. What Takuya had heard of the occasion on Matsuda's death anniversary in the elevator of the Touto Tower… He should probably at some point talk with the man about just he'd seen.

Still… to have a kid play Mouri like a puppet before using him as a mouthpiece. What was that kid exactly?

"Fukui-san, a glass of water please. I find my throat parched." Takuya said, without lifting his gaze from his notebook. Down were written now the suspects' relations to the man that their boss – the victim – had caused to commit suicide. All of them had a motive. This was getting tricky…

"Coming right up, Miyoshi-san!" The woman smiled. She was the reason why Mouri was at the bar. Apparently a strange 'pon'-sound had been frequently heard before a smell of yuzu could be detected and she'd wanted the man to investigate it. And the kid had followed the man.

Speaking of which…

"Miyoshi-keiji, do you know Fukui-san?" Conan looked up at him with big round eyes and questioning expression on his face. Thank kami it wasn't the smug-inquisitive one or cavity-inducing innocent one.

"Yes. I come here occasionally, have since I was in Police Academy. I know the owner quite well too." Takuya replied.

"Really?"

"Yes. Hey, you see that pool cue on the back wall? The one studded with diamonds."

The boy turned around and nodded when he saw the pool cue mounted on the wall behind the pool tables.

"The owner lost the cue in a bet years and years ago but got it won back almost three years ago. And what's more… Kaitou Kid also targeted the cue that day."

"Really?" Ah, childlike amazement. A rare sight on that face.

"Yes. Kuroba-kun had won the cue back when Kid struck. In the middle of a mod lair Bar American of all places. But the loser, Hasugawara Kenji declared that since Kuroba-kun and Jii-san owned the cue, the advance notice was null and void. Kid retreated."

"That sounds… Surprisingly like him." Conan nodded slowly.

"Here you go, Miyoshi-san." Fukui placed a glass of water on the counter. Takuya accepted it with a nod and while he was taking a sip, Conan took the opportunity to interrogate the woman about the suspects and their movements after the victim had passed out due alcohol.

* * *

Honestly, some of the theories Mouri was presenting were plain ridiculous. It was as if he forgot the circumstances around the murder completely. The presence of other people, suspect's lack of skill for darts…

And concentrated on completely irrelevant things like:

"It's a poster of Yoko-chan! What's more, it's the fabled Western bikini shot! It's been soaked! Bijo wa bijobijo!"

But Takuya did notice that the poster smelled like yuzu. More of that than of champagne… How curious.

And then…

"What?! You didn't find traces of poison on _anything_?" Megure questioned. "You checked the darts and the icepick as well?"

"Yes… According to forensics not only was there no poison, but the tests for blood were negative as well…" Takagi replied. "You checked those three people too, right?"

"Yes. None of them had either the weapon or a satchel or container that contained poison in their possession." The inspector said before scratching his head in frustration. "Damn, no murder weapon again. It's just like that recent pickpocketing case…"

"Speaking of the pickpocketing case… Did you talk to Jodie-san about that matter?"

"There is no need to tell an outsider like her!" Megure retorted.

"I agree. Ultimately this doesn't concern her… Just like whatever they talked about doesn't concern us." Takuya added.

"What do you mean, that matter?" Conan asked Takagi then but thankfully Megure interrupted the man before he could spill the beans.

"Conan-kun. This is a police matter. Don't worry about it okay?" Takuya smiled. "Leave this to adults. We are quite capable in doing our work after all."

Oh, the irked face of the boy was so precious.

* * *

Pieces of evidence to build the picture of the truth of the case were being gathered. Takuya's thoughts wandered. Ultimately it was quite a simple case given everything Fukui had told in her testimony. The only thing missing yet was that murder weapon itself. Most likely it was the tip of a dart, easily smuggled in and used discreetly before getting rid of. Via a kids' science experiment. Now he only needed to present the theory to Megure in somewhat coherent manner.

If only distracting and steering Mai was this easy…

Oh, look, it's Mouri-tantei and Conan-kun Show.

* * *

The case was wrapped up nicely. Mouri kept sleeping off the whatever drug Conan had used on him. It was only Takuya third or so time seeing the Sleeping Kogoro but he could only wonder how others couldn't see what he could. Or were they all so used to it that they didn't question it anymore. It had been half a year already since Sleeping Kogoro's first appearance.

And half a year since Kudou Shinichi's disappearance now that Takuya really began thinking of the conversation topics from the bullpen. Takuya had been present on Kudou's second to last case in public eye after which the high school detective had only appeared in the headlines concerning that case and poof! He was gone.

Now, Takuya knew the teen wasn't dead. He had appeared solving a murder at Mai's school. (And Mai was the only way he'd heard about it. Not even Takagi muttered a peep of it at MPD Headquarters.) Just like he could guess that the boy was deep in something dangerous.

Just like Conan was judging from the way the boy's face grew alarmed when Takagi told him about Benzaki and 'wife' and discrepancies found more they investigated. And when Mai had explained the boy her reasoning why the fingerprints being mismatched was a good thing for her investigation… Mai might not have noticed it, as deep into the explanation she was and Tsukiko distracting her right after, but Takuya had seen the boy's face. It was deep contemplation but unlike Tsukiko who had the realization dawning when she figured out what Mai was investigating, the boy didn't have all the information the girl had about Mai and her connections to places and people. Perks of actually being friends with Mai, she had the confidence and flair similar to other high school detectives running (or visiting) around Beika. She liked to present her deduction to people around them.

And Takuya might regret this later but…

"I'll go after him. Make sure that Conan-kun gets back home safely." Takuya told Megure when the boy ran out of the door.

"Very well. Be in time back at the station to craft your report, Miyoshi-kun." The inspector nodded. "We'll wrap the case up here."

* * *

Takuya followed after the boy at a leisurely pace. The kid was only seven after all. While fast, it couldn't beat Takuya so the man could concentrate on remaining unseen and thus observe what the boy would do.

He made a phone call. To someone who was apparently in hiding but… Not the one that Takuya's information concerned. An FBI agent could take care of themselves and the boy wouldn't be so panicked right before calling him.

"So you are hiding two people…" Takuya mused aloud approaching the boy. The kid spun around with a frightened look in his eyes. Takuya noticed some movement in the shadows of the alleyway on his right between the two of them. "Relax, I don't care you called right now. I'm here simply to deliver some information."

"How much did you hear?" Oh, the boy's behavior had taken a one-eighty. "Who are you really working for?"

Takuya arched an eyebrow. Did the boy really think he was one of… _them_? Such paranoia.

"My name is Miyoshi Takuya. I'm 26 years old. I'm a police detective for Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. I'm stationed at Beika City headquarters in Division One. I work for keeping Japan safe." The man deadpanned. "And after some deliberation I decided to relay you information about Mai-chan's investigations as it concerns you directly."

"What…?" Confusion but the suspicion didn't leave.

"You remember at the shrine how Mai-chan got results of fingerprint comparison? Tsukiko-chan managed somehow figure out – or then Mai-chan had already told her – that she was investigating a car fire of Raiha Pass in which I was the responding officer."

The realization dawned.

"After Mai-chan brought the prints to my knowledge I admit finding the case suspicious but I have no real reason or power to open it again… Even if I trust her word more than that of Agent Starling who's phone was apparently 'picked up by a nice stranger at roadside dinner'." Takuya smirked at the boy's terrified expression. "That being said the prints she gave me… from a coffee can of all things belonged to a man who helped her when they were involved in bus-jacking some months back. You were there too, you know the case."

The boy nodded slowly.

"After some digging in the case files and surveillance camera pictures at the station, I found the name of the man. And considering that it's your phone full of your prints sitting in the evidence locker I think you ought to know that name."

"What is it, Miyoshi-keiji?" The boy asked tensely.

"Akai Shuichi. Do whatever you wish with that information. Doesn't concern me anymore."

No other outward reaction than a short nod.

"I'll escort you home and head over to station then. No more nighttime wanderings to you anymore. Don't get pulled into this mess anymore, Conan-kun." Takuya approached the boy and took his hand like he'd taken Mai's hand when she was in elementary school. In the alleyway a familiar mop of blond hair flickered in the corner of Takuya's vision but he forced himself to ignore it.

"How much do you know…" The boy asked.

"Not nearly enough to act but definitely enough to realize I need to keep Mai-chan safe."

* * *

The next day a mail from a familiar but long unseen number appeared in Takuya inbox. It contained an address and time of a meeting.

"Ah… He's making his move then." Takuya mused. He conveniently had a day off so he could as well go to see what Rei wanted. Or Amuro Tooru as the other man went by nowadays. "Definitely took his time…"

It was an apartment house in the industrial district. Full of rented offices and apartments. It was one of the apartments that Takuya was being led to. He knocked on the door which was opened by a guy in dark grey suit and even darker red tie.

"My name is Nakamatsu Yuuri, nice to meet you." The man smiled.

"Miyoshi Takuya, but I think you already knew that." Takuya replied wryly.

"I sure did." Nakamatsu grinned and gestured the officer in. Takuya didn't bother taking his shoes off as Nakamatsu had his on and no slippers had been offered anyways.

They made their way to living room. There… was Rei. And two unknowns. A man and a woman. Nakamatsu stopped rounded Takuya and took his place next to Rei. Takuya stopped a couple of meters away from the quartet.

"Furuya-san you already know. These are Kazami Yuuya-kun and Kotobuki Tsumugi-san." Nakamatsu introduced his companions.

"Yoroshiku." Takuya nodded.

"We are from the Public Security Bureau while Furuya-san here is from NPA Security Bureau but works closely with us." Nakamatsu continued.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"…You are progressed quite far with your snooping around, Miyoshi-san. We are simply concerned that you might stumble upon something that will bring you to their radar also. You have stellar record after all and have done great job as division one officer."

"Bullshit. You are only concerned whether or not I'll blow Rei's cover." Takuya snorted. While Kazami seemed alarmed at the usage of language and lack of respect towards his superior and Kotobuki continued smiling blandly, Nakamatsu remained unperturbed.

"Well, that too. But mostly I'd like to recruit another bright mind to work with us. We have been lacking certain insight ever since the unfortunate demise of person we shall only refer to as Operative Scotch."

Right… he wasn't allowed into all of the secrets yet. Naturally. The offer was unexpected though. Unexpected but very welcome.

"On three conditions, I'll agree."

"Oh?" Nakamatsu arched an amused eyebrow.

"What makes you think you can set any demands?" Kazami retorted immediately but quietened when Nakamatsu raised a hand to silence him.

"Let's listen to them, Kazami-kun. I'll decide then what to make of them. I didn't expect to Miyoshi-san come quietly with us."

Takuya snorted at the turn of phrase.

"First things first… can you secure my cousin's, Miyoshi Maiko's, safety? She has been investigating alongside me but not as extensively."

"Naturally. Furuya-san has kept an eye on her already due fortunate circumstances." Nakamatsu nodded.

"Secondly, I get to keep my job at division one so no suspicion will be roused."

"Can be arranged." There was a glint in the man's eyes that Takuya didn't like but he ignored it for now.

"And lastly…" Takuya moved suddenly and quicker than they anticipated. He struck fast and true. Rei fell on the floor. Kazami moved to restrain Takuya but Kotobuki grabbed his forearm.

"That was unexpected." Nakamatsu remarked.

"I'm not too fond of people who leave their allies behind." Takuya stated, shaking his fist. "Damn, that felt good…"

"Was that all? I accept your conditions."

"Yes, I accept your offer."

* * *

Rei escorted him back to downstairs and to his car. He was rubbing his cheek.

"Date taught you well." The blond remarked.

"Better than the Academy instructors." Takuya shrugged and stopped. Rei stopped too. "I'm not asking an explanation"

"Nakamatsu-san did lay out the key points quite well. And you'll get a debrief soon enough."

"I do am angry. Don't mistake my calmness into forgiveness. You had Wataru and I in radio silence for almost five years." Takuya ran a hand through his hair and tightened his lowtail. "That being said, I'm glad to be able to work alongside you. It's something I dreamt in Academy. Working together with you and Wataru."

"I know."

"Damn… Why?" Takuya really didn't want to break down in tears but something about the entire situation was making him emotional. "Why?!"

"I'd apologize but I doubt you'd appreciate it. But if it helps… I'm glad to have my backup again."

"I'm the best damn backup you'd ever ask for."

* * *

On the next week, Takuya found out what Nakamatsu had been plotting. He'd gotten promoted. From a sergeant to assistant inspector.

"Damn that man…" The brunet chuckled and got up to follow Megure to make the rank official.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Yes, I took the name for Kotobuki Tsumugi from K-On manga.**

 **About police ranks... Basically Takuya rose from the rank Takagi and Chiba have, to the same rank Satou has.**

 **On the other hand, apparently Kazami has the same rank than Megure and Shiratori have. Nakamatsu is one above them, he is superintendent, same what Kuroda(formerly Matsumoto) is for division one and Chaki is for division two.**

 **I probably should have written more about the emotional side of things but this chapter is more about knowledge and plot progression even though this is a one-shot.**


End file.
